Odo, Count of Penthièvre

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Duke of Brittany, with Alan III

Odo I

Duke of Brittany, with Alan III
Reign	1008–1035
Predecessor	Geoffrey I
Successor	Alan III by himself
Regent	Hawise of Normandy
Count of Penthièvre
Reign	1035–1079
Successor	Geoffrey I
Regent of Brittany
Reign	1040 - 1057

Born	c. 999
Died	c. 1079 Cesson
Burial	Saint-Brieuc
Spouse	Orguen-Agnes of Cornouaille
House	House of Rennes
Father	Geoffrey I
Mother	Hawise of Normandy
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Odo of Rennes (Breton: Eozen Penteur, French: Eudes/Éon de Penthièvre) (999–1079), Count of Penthièvre, was the youngest son of Duke Geoffrey I of Brittany and Hawise of Normandy, daughter of Richard I of Normandy. Eozen married Agnes of Cornouaille, the daughter of Alan Canhiart, Count of Cornouaille and sister of Hoel II, Duke of Brittany who was married in 1066 to Eozen's niece Hawise, Duchess of Brittany.

Role in Governance of Brittany

When Eozen's father Duke Geoffrey I died on 20 November 1008 both Eozen and his older brother were minors. Geoffrey had entered into a dynastic double marriage with Richard II, Duke of Normandy, by marrying Hawise of Normandy, Richard's sister, in 996; this was followed by the marriage of Geoffrey's sister Judith of Brittany to Richard around the year 1000.

At Geoffrey's death, Alan became de jure Duke, as Alan III, Duke of Brittany, Hawise took on the role of Regent, and Richard asserted the role of Guardian of Brittany, an arrangement reciprocated on the death of Robert I, Duke of Normandy in 1035.

Also in 1035, after a dispute between Eozen and Duke Alan III, their uncle Judicaël Bishop of Vannes arbitrated, and Alan III gave Eozen the bishoprics of Saint Brieuc, Saint Malo Tréguier and Dol de Bretagne, as well as the counties and baronies of Penthièvre, Goëlo, Avaugour and Lamballe. Eozen placed his capital at Lamballe, where he began issuing coins in his own name.

Following the death of his brother Duke Alan III in 1040, Eozen ruled as regent of Brittany in the name of his nephew Conan II, holding Conan in custody. Conan was freed by his supporters in 1047. Eozen's regency should have ended when Conan reached his majority (circa 1054), but Eozen refused to relinquish control of the Duchy.

In pursuit of his own wider ambitions, Conan was fighting Geoffrey III, Count of Anjou. Since Geoffrey was also an enemy of Duke William of Normandy, the latter weighed in on Conan's side. In February 1054, as an enemy of Conan's, Eozen fought on the side of King Henry I of France at the Battle of Mortemer against William, but William won. Undaunted, Eozen maintained his alliance with Anjou.

By 1056 Conan gained the upper hand in Brittany, and in 1057 he captured his uncle Eozen and chained him in a prison cell. Eozen's eldest son Geoffrey Boterel continued to fight.

In 1062, peace was concluded between Conan and Geoffrey. Eozen, who was now free, continued the fight alone.

In histories favourable to the house of Penthievre, Eozen is shown as effectively ruling Brittany between 1040 and 1062. In other histories his rule is shown as ending in 1057, the year in which Conan II captured and imprisoned him in chains.

Conan was a legitimate contender for the title of Duke of Normandy, so he then became a serious rival to Duke William.

In 1064, Eozen's liegeman Rivallon I of Dol invited Duke William to join him against Conan, thus initiating the Breton-Norman War of 1064-1065 in which Normandy, Anjou, Dol de Bretagne and the captive Harold Godwinson combined against Conan II, as depicted in three panels of the Bayeux Tapestry. Historians differ on whether William or Conan should be considered the victor in this conflict.

Involvement in the Preparations for the Norman Conquest of England

Eozen provided, trained and equipped 5000 Breton soldiers for William the Conqueror's army. Of these, 4000 were professionals, comprising light cavalry, heavy cavalry, archers, crossbowmen and axemen; he also trained 1000 levied (conscripted) spearmen. Eozen put these troops on 100 ships under the command of his sons Count Alan Rufus and Count Brian, and they sailed from Brittany to join the Norman forces gathering at Barfleur then on to William's staging point at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, in readiness to cross the Channel.

Rebellion against Hoel, the Regent of Brittany

Despite his advanced years, Eozen was involved in the failed 1075/1076 rebellion against Hoel II, Regent of Brittany, by Geoffrey Grenonat of Rennes and Ralph de Gael (fresh from his 1075 rebellion against King William). Hoel II was supported by King William, briefly placing Eozen and William on opposing sides once again, a situation that was soon resolved when Hoel came to terms with the rebels.

Death

On 7 January 1079, at about 80 years of age, Eozen died in Cesson-Sévigné, an eastern suburb of Rennes. He was buried in Saint-Brieuc Cathedral.

In his memory, “Comes Alanus Rufus” , his second son, donated property to Swavesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire, for the soul of “patris sui Eudonis comitis” , by an undated charter witnessed by “…Ribaldus et Bardulfus fratres comitis…” .

Family

Eozen's children with Agnes include:

Geoffrey Boterel I, count of Penthièvre (d. 24 August 1093).
Alan Rufus (alternatively Alain Le Roux, or Alan Ar Rouz in Breton, called Count Alan in the Domesday Book, his name means "Red Deer") (d. between 1093 and 1098) - effectively the first Earl of Richmond, though the majority of his manors were in East Anglia. The Honour of Richmond in North Yorkshire was originally called "The Land of Count Alan" (it is so named in the Domesday Book), so technically he was Alan the Count of the Land of Count Alan, a title that he understandably never used.
Alan the Black I (alternatively Alain Niger, or Alan Ar Du in Breton, his name means "Black Deer") (d. 1098), inherited from Alan Rufus.
Brian - Earl of Cornwall (possibly illegitimate).
Stephen, Count of Tréguier married Havise of Guingamp - succeeded Alan Rufus and Alan the Black as de facto Earl of Richmond. Stephen and Havise had a number of legitimate children and grandchildren, all of whom are ancestors of the current British Royal Family.
Robert, a priest in Yorkshire.
Richard, a canon of Bayeux at the time when Thomas of Bayeux, Thomas's brother Samson and William de Saint-Calais were also canons there.
Guillaume or William, who came to Switzerland, entering the service of the Holy Roman Emperor; he was the suppressor of the revolt of Agaunum (today Saint-Maurice-en-Valais), and receive a castle in his honour.
An unnamed daughter, who married Enisandus Musardus de Ploveno who was the Lord of Cheveley in Chambridgeshire and subsequently first Constable of Richmond Castle and lord of some twenty manors in the Land of Count Alan in North Yorkshire.

Sons of Eozen who were probably illegitimate include:

Bardolf, who moved to England where he held the lordship of Ravensworth and became the ancestor of the Fitzhugh family.
Bodin, Lord of Bedale and brother of Bardolf.
Ribald, who received the Lordship of Middleham from Alan Rufus.
(Possibly) Derrien, Lord of La Roche-Derrien in Brittany.

At least two of Eozen's sons (Alan Rufus and Brian) were early participants in the Norman conquest of England.

Eozen's descendants formed the junior branch of the Breton ducal family, which gained control of the duchy in 1156 under Conan IV of Brittany.

Ancestry

Family of Odo, Count of Penthièvre

8. Judicael Berengar, Count of Rennes

4. Conan I, Duke of Brittany

9. Gerberga

2. Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany

20. Fulk II, Count of Anjou

10. Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou

21. Gerberga

5. Ermengarde of Anjou

22. Robert of Vermandois, Count of Meaux

11. Adele of Meaux

23. Adelaide-Werra de Chalon

1. Odo, Count of Penthièvre

24. Rollo, Duke of Normandy

12. William I, Duke of Normandy

25. Poppa of Bayeux

6. Richard I, Duke of Normandy

13. Sprota

3. Hawise of Normandy

7. Gunnora

Notes

Odo in French is Eudes.
The title of Duke of Brittany had not yet been recognized by the King of France, although it was in use since Alan II, Duke of Brittany. Since Brittany was not in fact under the French Crown until the late 15th century, and not incorporated into the French State until the French Revolution, what the King of France thought is a moot point.
In some histories Eozen is shown co-Duke with his brother Alan, followed by a period where Alan ruled as Duke of Brittany alone. Eozen's position as co-Duke is unlikely and remains an historical uncertainty in search of documented proof. In any event Alan would go on to shed the control of Normandy circa 1026, and from this date it is clear there was no ruling role for Eozen until Alan died.
Not to be confused with Alan the Black II, the son of Stephen, Count of Tréguier, who also would inherit the Earldom, after Stephen. There is little reliable written documentation of his life save for a record of his death - possibly in the same year as his brother Alan Rufus, as he is believed to have held the Earldom for a very brief period of time before it passed to Stephen.
The detailed documented histories are lacking and limited. He is presumed to have been illegitimate. Brian participated in the conquest of England. The website of Charles Cawley reports that Brian (French: Brien; Latin: Briennius) defeated a second raid in the southwest of England, launched from Ireland by Harold's sons in 1069. Brian's forces then went north to counter the rebellion by Eadric the Wild, as William the Conqueror's army travelled west; the two armies joined and won the Battle of Stafford. For a time, Brian held the Honour of Brittany, including 227 manors in Cornwall and a number in eastern England. However, he became an invalid and subsequently relinquished all his estates in south-west England (William then gave them to his own half-brother Robert, Count of Mortain), and retired to Brittany to be with his bride. He is recorded as a witness to two documents issued by Geoffrey I Boterel in 1084. He is believed to have died without offspring, however Domesday Book entries for the year 1086 refer to "Ralph son of Brian" (http://domesdaymap.co.uk/name/418750/ralph-son-of-brian/) as holding seven properties in Essex and Suffolk, some under the Bishop of London St Paul, the others under Ranulf (Ranulph) Peverel (see William Peverel); to "William son of Brian" (http://domesdaymap.co.uk/name/597200/william-son-of-brian/) as holding land under the Bishop of London St Paul at Great and Little Totham in the Hundred of Thurstable in Essex; to "Everard son of Brian"; and to "Brian's wife" (http://domesdaymap.co.uk/name/118700/brians-wife/) as holding property under the Bishop of London St Paul in Stepney in the Hundred of Ossulstone in Middlesex. The timing of the lives of Alan Rufus and Stephen of Tréguier suggests that Brian did not hold Richmond. It is reported elsewhere that he was an Earl of Cornwall but resigned the title and returned to Brittany; Brian's lands in England were then granted by King William I to the latter's half-brother Robert, Count of Mortain. During the Anarchy, Alan the Black II claimed Cornwall on the basis of his uncle Brian having held it; a claim that was accepted by King Stephen.
Middleham later passed by marriage and consequent female descent to the House of Neville.

References

Tallent, Mike. "Battle of Stafford". Retrieved 24 February 2014.
Cawley, Charles. "Comtes de Penthièvre". Medieval Lands. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
"Open Domesday". Retrieved 24 February 2014.
Green, Judith A. (2002) The Aristocracy of Norman England, p. 41

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